# What is the profession that had the most positive impact on your life? **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195 **Category:** In My Humble Opinion **Created:** [March 21, 2008, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195 "2008-03-21T05:17:08Z") **Posts on this page:** 20 **Page:** 1
### Author: ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/1 "2008-03-21T05:17:08Z")
I hesitate between novelists and mathematicians. ---
### Author: ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/2 "2008-03-21T05:56:56Z")
Is Grandma and Mom a profession? In any case, those are followed by teachers/professors. ---
### Author: ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/3 "2008-03-21T06:10:49Z")
Composers, movie directors, librarians and video game designers. ---
### Author: ![Purgatory\_Creek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@Purgatory\_Creek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purgatory_Creek) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/4 "2008-03-21T06:22:23Z")
No question there. Librarians come in first, computer scientists would have to be second, and veterinarians come in third. ---
### Author: ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/5 "2008-03-21T10:06:47Z")
Teachers without a doubt. Without that august body I would never have discovered the delights of books, music and a host of other things…travelling abroad being one of them ---
### Author: ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/6 "2008-03-21T10:30:38Z")
Oncology. ---
### Author: ![bathsheba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@bathsheba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bathsheba) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/7 "2008-03-21T10:43:38Z")
Lawyers. ---
### Author: ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/8 "2008-03-21T10:48:14Z")
Teachers. Both the ones who taught me in school, and the ones I know now amongst my friends. Closely followed by historians and architects. ---
### Author: ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/9 "2008-03-21T10:57:56Z")
Psychologists, teachers, writers, musicians. ---
### Author: ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/10 "2008-03-21T11:58:58Z")
Doctors and medical researchers. If it weren’t for them my daughter would have died at birth and I would have died with her. ---
### Author: ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/11 "2008-03-21T14:11:41Z")
I’m going to have to go with Doctors. My Mom almost died having me, and she was pretty handy to have around while growing up. Also, that blood poisoning incident when I was twelve would have probably done me in without the local doctors to help. ---
### Author: ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/12 "2008-03-21T16:13:31Z")
Psychiatry, no doubt. ---
### Author: ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/13 "2008-03-21T16:46:54Z")
Psychiatrists, medical researchers, and writers. Teachers also. ---
### Author: ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/14 "2008-03-21T17:24:11Z")
Doctors, easily. I would think that’s true of most people. Props are due to teachers and such, but without doctors most of my family would be dead and I’d be crippled. ---
### Author: ![beanpod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9adbd/32.png) [@beanpod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beanpod) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/15 "2008-03-21T18:07:42Z")
Doctors and paramedics: My mother, father, brother, and all four grandparents would be dead right now if not for emergency medical interventon. Childbirth complications, heart attacks, strokes, and one case of chronic emphasema. I started to continue with others…but wow, typing that out really got me and I had to go have a cry. Teachers and artists of all kinds have had positive impacts, but they pale in comparison. (Any medical professionals reading–thank you. This of course includes researchers.) ---
### Author: ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/16 "2008-03-21T19:56:51Z")
College professors, musicians. ---
### Author: ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/17 "2008-03-21T19:58:55Z")
Martial artists. No pun intended. ---
### Author: ![micro-dust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@micro-dust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micro-dust) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/18 "2008-03-21T20:08:30Z")
Museum Studies - I know and love many museum professionals. They are the most relaxed and enthusiastic, positive people. Unfortunately, I’m in more general sales, so they are only part of my week, but I look forward to those appointments. ---
### Author: ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/19 "2008-03-21T20:20:32Z")
Marijuana dealers. ---
### Author: ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1) #### Post date: [March 21, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195/20 "2008-03-21T20:22:12Z")
Teachers, writers, musicians EDT: my mother and both grandmothers were teachers; this fact amplified the impact of teachers on my life. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-profession-that-had-the-most-positive-impact-on-your-life/442195.md?page=2)